‘Risk’ vs reward: Deschutes County businesses weigh limits of reopening

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Tim Casinelli, Deschutes Brewery's general manager in downtown Bend, is ready to move forward.

"We've been waiting for this moment for a long time," Casinelli said Tuesday.

Starting Friday, Deschutes County officially moves down from an extreme risk level to high risk after the county's COVID-19 case counts drop to their lowest levels in months.

This could be a step in the right direction for several industries that have been pummeled by the pandemic.

Casinelli said he's ready to bring employees and customers back into the fold.

"When the shutdown happened, I believe we let go of 70 people," Casinelli said. "We're going to have almost all of them back to work now."

So what do these risk level changes look like?

Major changes moving from Extreme Ris down to high Risk are up to eight people (from six) allowed in outdoor social and home gatherings, allowing indoor dining (with takeout still highly recommended) and larger outdoor seating capacity.

Indoor recreation, fitness and entertainment establishments will be allowed at maximum 25% of capacity or 50 people total, whichever is smaller (and an 11 p.m. closing time for entertainment businesses).

Outdoor recreation, fitness and entertainment establishments move from a 50-person maximum to allowing up to 75 people.

Heidi Hagemeier of Bend's High Desert Museum said they're excited to bring guests back inside.

"We are excited to bring visitors back into the interior of the museum, especially to see some of our changing exhibits," she said.

Hagemeier said their outdoor exhibits have been open, along with virtual classes, but it's just not the same.

"There's something special about being here for the in-person experience," Hagemeier said. "We have a lot of wonderful content with our temporary exhibits that we're glad to share with folks."

Hagemeier also said all guests need to purchase "timed tickets" prior to attending the museum, to help with capacity limits.

Another major change in Deschutes County comes for long-term care facilities, where residents will be allowed to have indoor visitations.

The Oregon Health Authority will continue tol examine and publish county data weekly, and county risk levels will be reassigned every two weeks.

The first week's data provides a "warning week," to prepare counties for potential risk level changes.